Kaldoran Hundreds

The hundreds and forests of Kaldor are an administrative hodgepodge typical of most Hârnic feudal kingdoms.
Kaldor has fifty one hundreds and forests total, each one over- seen by a bailiff or forester.
Some local offices are held in perpetual or hereditary grant, some at the king’s pleasure.
In general, the bailiff of any hundred has enormous local influence; he is the key local administrator. Having a hostile bailiff of the hundred can make life miserable for the lord of a manor and those below him.
The royal forests are sparsely populated and are subject to forest law. The land itself may be of any type.
The offices of chief ranger and chief forester are generally sinecures. The holder hardly ever performs the duties of the job directly, unless for sport.
But the salaries of deputy rangers are a convenient way to reward one’s own retainers out of the king’s pocket.
In short, the offices of bailiff and king’s forester are an important part of Kaldoran local politics.
In the day to day life of the commons, the bailiff and the forester are the most familiar representatives of royal authority; and because the holders of these offices are local nobles, the distinction between landlord and king’s officer tends to blur in the minds of the peasants.

Balimshire

Anvusen, Cholas, Chyle, Marindas, Miona, Niremos, and the Forest of Lonemor.
The Lorzands of Matass hold the baileyship of Marindas Hundred as part of their fief, while that of Cholas Hundred is an appartenance of the bishopric of Kephrus.
The Master-Forester of Lonemor, by life grant with reversion to his heir, is the earl of Balim.
The forest is actually patrolled by his deputy, Sir Dregald Drascar of Balin, who is the vassal of the earl’s cousin the bishop of Kephrus.

Meselynshire

Allence, Ambarnis, Myaman, Navintas, Nelafayn, and Revabyne Hundreds, the Forest of Arien, the Chase of Merlace, and the Taelda or Northern March.
The baileyship of Nelafayn was granted to the bishopric of Nurez by the House of Tane, while the baileyship of Myaman Hundred was granted in perpetuity to the Nevans, lords of Nevanfal, by Haldan I.
Note that in terms of feudal lordship the royal estates of Blikle and Shotryn in Navintas are part of the royal honour of Bidow, even though Navintas (of which Blikle is the seat of the bailiff and hundred-moot) is part of Meselynshire for legal and administrative purposes.
The Chase of Meralace, north and south parts, was granted for life to Sir Maldan Harabor of Tentru on his twenty-first birthday by the King his father.
The office of Chief Forester of Arien is currently held by Sir Evan Ralgurty of Airth, a vassal of the royal earldom of Meselyne.
The office of Warden of the Northern March is customarily joined to that of sheriff of Meselynshire; the March is a vast territory which, unlike the other marches of Kaldor, is technically part of its shire.
It stretches in an arc from the Efrel river in the south to the River Shem in the north.
In practice the Warden’s only real duties are to protect traffic on the Fur Road (in particular the annual caravans from Orbaal), to show the royal banner in these parts, and to maintain relations with the king’s Taeldan “sub- jects”.

Nephshire

Dobraine, Fethael, and Tonallan Hundreds, the Forests of Fyaslor and Kirsta, and the Ranger- ships of Kanir and Yalten-Hania.
Nephshire is notable for its unusual administrative arrangements.
The baileyship of Tonallan Hundred is held in hereditary grant by the Linnots, lords of Janed and of Furanth, the moot-place.
Moreover, although responsible to the sheriff of Neph as officers of the Crown, they owe their feudal allegiance to the king as earl of Meselyne rather than to Nephshire’s Honour of Bidow.
Likewise, the bailiff of Navintas Hundred, across the River Shem in Meselynshire, though administratively part of the later, renders and accounts for the revenues of the Manor of Blikle to the sheriff of Nephshire in his capacity as steward and constable of Caer and Honour of Bidow.
The principal duty of the ranger of Yalten-Hania is to patrol the Silver Way between Chalce and Naniom Bridge.
During the present the office is held at pleasure by the Reblena of Chalce, who carries out his duties conscientiously.
The ranger of Kanir, on the contrary, has never set foot in his jurisdiction.
The district is almost unknown to Kaldorans, inhabited only by Taelda and Gargun, and without any need for patrols; the office, currently held by Baron Chimin Indama of Getha, is a sinecure allowing the holder to pocket his own wages with those of eight fictional deputy-rangers.

Oselshire

Asolade, Daynora, Firithel, Siloryne, and Valganara Hundreds, and the Forest-Ranges of Orsinal, Peihlne, and Remil.
The Firith barons of Kobing are hereditary Chief Foresters of Orsinal, while the Ranges of Peihlne and Remil are customarily attached to the office of Lord Warden of Oselmarch, which itself is customarily held by the barons of Kobing, so that the authority of the House of Firith generally extends throughout the eastern reaches of the shire.
The royal fief of Hutop is one of the Crown’s largest agglomerations of land; because of its size, the custom has arisen of dividing its supervision into two halves, called “circuits”.
The sheriff of Oselshire renders account for the western circuit, concentrated in Daynora Hundred, while the bailiff of Hylesim Manor renders for the east circuit of manors in Siloryne and Valganara.
The earls of Osel, who are traditionally conceded some influence over the baileyship of Siloryne Hundred, have often in the past pressed to have their men named to the baileyship of Hylesim as well, thereby extending their influence over all the royal manors in the Hundred.

Semethshire

Bredan, Endrunel, Tuselion, and Wosendel Hundreds, and the Forests of Calushid, Dunam, and Semethe.
Known in ancient times as the kingdom of Kephria, Semethshire is largely once cultivated land turned wild.
Although the bounds of the shire stride the Kald River, the vast majority of its inhabitants live in the four settled hundreds east of the river. West of the Kald are the three forest hundreds; a region of scattered farmland in the days of Lothrim, these hundreds were desolated by the Kath in the second century and have never been reclaimed.
In practice these forests are treated as a part of Chelmarch; indeed the warden of the march resides at Kathane in Dunam and his men patrol the forests more often than the march itself.
Despite the small size of Semethshire east of the Kald, it is the most densely settled and fertile of Kaldor’s shires.
Although home to only one baronial family (the Verdreths of Ternua), many of Kaldor’s richest knightly families live in the shire; the peasantry is generally prosperous and the proximity of Tashal means they are far more involved in the urban cash economy than elsewhere in the kingdom.

Thelshire

Cedamyne, Habimas, Rethelsyne, Taniran, and Tarial Hundreds.
The two eastern hundreds of Cedamyne and Tarial are held by the Morhuns of Valedon and by Tarial Abbey, respectively, as hereditary hundred-bailiffs.
Although there are no forest hundreds in Thelshire, the bailiff of Rethelsyne is allowed pay for a half-dozen foresters in order to patrol the wooded two-thirds of the hundred which lies east of the Lady of Paladins chapterhouse at Ffan.

Vemionshire

Atressa, Grimruld, Lynnfana, and Tishilan Hundreds, the Forests of Kythlim, Mylelim, and Rumerill, the Liberty of Halaina, and the Rangerships of Thicesund and Valdrun.
In the Vemion plain are the four populated hundreds, bounded on the east by the Valdrun Downs and on the west by the Forests of Lim. The uninhabited tracts of Thicesund and Valdrun are subject to forest law and patrolled by royal foresters called rangers; the rangership of Thicesund is customarily held by the barons of Nenda.
The liberty of Halaina was granted by charter in 482 by Queen Myselbane; within its bounds the abbot of Halaina has exclusive jurisdic- tion over almost all crimes and suits, and no royal official may enter unbidden.
Moreover, the charter placed the rangership of Valdrun in the gift of Halaina’s abbot, who has given the office to the Reblena of Kelen ever since.